Editing Highveld

{{short description|Geographic region of the South African inland plateau}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name                    = Highveld
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| settlement_type         = Natural region
| image_skyline           = Highveld in Gauteng Province.jpg
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| image_caption           = Highveld in winter in [[Gauteng]] Province north of [[Johannesburg]]
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| image_map               = Great Escarpment map 1.png
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| map_caption             = A map of South Africa showing the central plateau edged by the Great Escarpment and its relationship to the Highveld and [[Lesotho Highlands]]: The portion of the [[Great Escarpment, Southern Africa|Great Escarpment]] shown in red is officially known as the [[Drakensberg]], although most South Africans think of the Drakensberg as only that portion of the escarpment which forms the border between [[KwaZulu-Natal]] and [[Lesotho]]. Here, the escarpment rises to its greatest height, over 3000 m.
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| subdivision_name        = [[South Africa]]<br />[[Lesotho]]
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The '''Highveld''' ([[Afrikaans]]: ''Hoëveld,'' {{IPA|af|ˈɦuəfælt|pron}}, {{literally|High Field}}) is the portion of the [[South Africa#Geography|South African]] inland [[plateau]] which has an altitude above roughly {{Convert|1500|m|abbr=on}}, but below {{Convert|2100|m|abbr=on}}, thus excluding the [[Lesotho]] mountain regions to the south-east of the Highveld. It is home to some of the country's most important commercial farming areas, as well as its largest concentration of metropolitan centres, especially the [[Gauteng]] [[conurbation]], which accommodates one-third of South Africa's population.

==Location and description==
The Highveld constitutes almost all of the provinces of [[Free State (South African province)|Free State]] and [[Gauteng]] and portions of the surrounding areas: the western rim of Lesotho and portions of the [[Eastern Cape]], [[Northern Cape]], [[North West (South African province)|North West]], [[Limpopo]], and [[Mpumalanga]] provinces of South Africa.<ref>Encyclopædia Britannica; Macropaedia Vol 17, p. 66. (1974) Helen Hemingway Bento Publishers, Chicago.</ref>  The highest part of the Highveld, around {{Convert|2100|m|abbr=on}}, is its northeastern well-defined boundary, where the plateau escarpment (the Mpumalanga [[Drakensberg]]) separates it from the Mpumalanga [[Veld#Lowveld|Lowveld]], (containing, amongst others, the [[Kruger National Park]]).<ref>Dictionary of South African English (1993) Oxford University Press, Cape Town</ref> Another well defined boundary is to its north where the [[Magaliesberg]] separates the Highveld from the Bushveld. The continuation of the [[Great Escarpment, Southern Africa|Great Escarpment]] to the south separates the Highveld from KwaZulu-Natal.<ref name= "atlas">Atlas of Southern Africa p. 13 (1984) Reader's Digest & the Directorate of Surveys and Mapping</ref> The south-eastern portion of the Great Escarpment (that portion of the Great Escarpment most commonly referred to as ''the'' [[Drakensberg]]) rises to over 3000&nbsp;m and forms the boundary between KwaZulu-Natal and Lesotho. The latter mountainous region is, however, not generally referred to as Highveld, whose boundary at this point runs just inside the Lesotho-Free State border, about {{Convert|2000|m|abbr=on}}. From its eastern boundary, the Highveld slopes gently downwards to be bounded by the [[Great Karoo]] to the south, the [[Kalahari]] desert to the west, the [[Bushveld]] to the north, the Mpumalanga Lowveld to the northeast, KwaZulu-Natal to the east, and the [[Geography of Lesotho|Lesotho Highlands, or Mountains]], to the southeast.<ref name= "atlas"/> The Highveld covers an area of almost  {{Convert|400000|km2|abbr=on}}, or roughly 30% of South Africa's land area.

The Highveld terrain is generally devoid of mountains, consisting of rolling plains, especially in the Free State, sometimes interrupted by rocky ridges such as the [[Witwatersrand]], the [[Magaliesberg]], and [[Vredefort Dome]]. The [[Vaal River]] and its tributaries form the main water drainage system of the Highveld. Tributaries of the [[Orange River]] drain the most southerly regions of the Highveld.

The Highveld [[rainy season]] occurs in summer, with substantial afternoon thunderstorms being typical occurrences in November, December, and January. Frost occurs in winter.

==Urban areas and industry==
Cities located on the Highveld include [[Johannesburg]], [[Pretoria]], [[Bloemfontein]], [[Vereeniging]], [[Welkom]], [[Carletonville, Gauteng|Carletonville]], and the cities of the [[West Rand]] and [[East Rand]]. The diamond-mining city of [[Kimberley, Northern Cape|Kimberley]] lies on the border of the Highveld and the southeastern Kalahari.

About half of the [[gold]] ever produced in the world has been mined on the Highveld since 1880. The largest deposits are located in the Witwatersrand, which centres on Johannesburg, with smaller deposits in the northern Free State near Welkom and [[Virginia, Free State|Virginia]]. The Highveld is also exceedingly rich in [[diamonds]], [[coal]], [[vanadium]], and [[manganese]].

The pollution in this region is also very high principally due to coal [[thermal power station]]s producing [[nitrogen oxide]] and [[sulfur dioxide]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2019/06/26/dans-l-afrique-du-sud-charbonniere-la-population-est-prisonniere-d-une-pollution-mortelle_5481645_3212.html|title=Dans l'Afrique du Sud charbonnière, la population est prisonnière d'une pollution mortelle|newspaper=Le Monde|access-date=26 June 2019|date=26 June 2019|language=fr|trans-title=In South Africa, the population is trapped in deadly pollution}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thesouthafrican.com/news/pollution-and-smog-plague-lives-on-south-africas-highveld|title=Pollution and smog plague lives on South Africa's Highveld|work=The South African|date=29 June 2019 |access-date=29 June 2019}}</ref>

[[Agriculture]] on the Highveld is generally dominated by extensive [[grain]] production and the grazing of [[beef cattle]], with more intensive production of [[maize]], [[wheat]], [[sorghum]], [[citrus fruits]], [[Macrotyloma geocarpum|groundnuts]], [[sunflowers]], and [[vegetables]], occurring in irrigated areas and farmland closer to urban areas. The peat base of the [[grassland]] acts as a natural filter, providing sources of clean water.

==Flora==
Naturally occurring vegetation in the Highveld consists of different types of well-established [[grassland]] depending on the varying amounts of rainfall across the area: subtropical and temperate [[grassland]], with true [[savannah]] not dominating the ecosystem until more tropical latitudes. The major grass species are ''[[Hyparrhenia hirta]]'' and ''[[Sporobolus pyramidalis]]'' and among these are other grasses and herbs. Trees and shrubs never thrived due to the frequent fires that occurred in the dry season and the heavy grazing (once by wild animals and now by [[livestock]]).

==Fauna==
The Highveld is home to a number of endangered animals, including [[straw-coloured fruit bat]]s; Africa's largest snake, the African rock python (''[[Python sebae]]''); [[mountain zebra]]s; and South Africa's national bird, the [[blue crane]] (''Anthropoides paradiseus''). The only endemic bird species is [[Botha's lark]] (''Spizocorys fringillaris'') and the two endemic mammals – the [[Free State pygmy mouse]] (''Mus orangiae'') and the [[rough-haired golden mole]] (''Chrysospalax villosa''). As well as the python, other reptiles include the [[Nile crocodile]] (''Crocodylus niloticus''), [[Nile monitor]] (''Varanus niloticus''), rock monitor (''[[Varanus albigularis]]''), and [[giant girdled lizard]] or sungazer (''Smaug giganteus'').

==Threats and preservation==
Like many other areas of grassland all over the world, the Highveld is excellent agricultural land and most of the area has been converted for farming. The grassland areas now remaining in the natural state are in various nature reserves, which, although a small portion of the Highveld, are still the largest areas of remaining [[:Category:Grasslands of South Africa|grassland in South Africa]]. The protected areas include [[Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gdard.gpg.gov.za/Suikerbos.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100919152130/http://www.gdard.gpg.gov.za/Suikerbos.htm |archive-date=2010-09-19 |title=Department of Agriculture and Rural Development}}</ref> [[Verloren Valei Nature Reserve]], [[Nooitgedacht Dam Nature Reserve]], [[Bronkhorstspruit Dam]] Nature Reserve, [[Vaal Dam]] Nature Reserve, and [[Koppies Dam Nature Reserve]]s and [[Willem Pretorius Game Reserve]].<ref>{{WWF ecoregion|name=Highveld grasslands|id=at1009|access-date=2012-09-29}}</ref>

==Popular culture==
* The Highveld is featured in [[Rudyard Kipling]]'s ''[[Just So Stories]]'', "How the Leopard Got His Spots".

==See also==
*{{annotated link|Witwatersrand basin}}
*{{annotated link|Vredefort impact structure}}
*{{annotated link|Transvaal Basin}}
*{{annotated link|Lowveld}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Biodiversity of South Africa|ecoreg}}
{{Regions of Africa}}
{{coord|-27|28|type:landmark_region:ZA|display=title}}

[[Category:Regions of Africa]]
[[Category:Afromontane ecoregions]]
[[Category:Ecoregions of South Africa]]
[[Category:Environment of South Africa]]
[[Category:Landforms of South Africa]]
[[Category:Montane grasslands and shrublands]]
[[Category:Natural regions of South Africa]]
[[Category:Plateaus of Africa]]